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NAWE Management Committee    2022 - 2025

A new Management Committee for 2022-2025 was appointed at the AGM on Thursday 10 November 2022. The committee will serve from November 2022 to November 2025. 

Management Committee members for 2022-2025

Anne Caldwell

Anne Caldwell is a poet, freelance writer and lecturer for the Open University. She is currently studying for a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Bolton. In the past, she worked for NAWE in various capacities including Programme Director, with a specialism in professional development for writers. She is co-editing a new prose poetry anthology for the UK: 'The Valley Press Anthology of Prose Poetry' with Oz Hardwick, and her most recent book is 'Painting the Spiral Staircase', (Cinnamon). She has also had a career in literature development and libraries and is programming live events this year for the City of Salford.

Jonathan Davidson 

Jonathan Davidson has worked for over twenty-five years in arts management and literature development. He is Chief Executive of Writing West Midlands which runs a major programme of writing in education work with children and students.

Dr Sue Dymoke, Nottingham Trent University

Sue Dymoke is a poet, Associate Professor in Education at Nottingham Trent University and National Teaching Fellow/SFHEA. Her research focuses on aspects of poetry pedagogy and curriculum, writing development and creativity. Sue also regularly leads poetry writing workshops for young people and adults. A NAWE member for many years, she has extensive experience of peer reviewing, journal editing and writing for publication. Books include three poetry collections (the latest is What They Left Behind, Shoestring Press) and edited volumes: Making Poetry Matter: International research on poetry pedagogy and Making Poetry Happen: Transforming the poetry classroom (Bloomsbury). She blogs at suedymokepoetry.com.

Professor Andrew Melrose, University of Winchester/University of Brighton(chair)

Professor Andrew Melrose is now Emeritus Professor at the University of Winchester and works with other universities throughout the UK, Greece, Australia and the USA. He has worked in Creative Writing for over 25 years and has over 150 publications in one form or another (books, films, articles, poems and songs) and he has maintained his ambition to publish at least one thing every year. His most recent publications are The Boat and Das Boot (in German translation) the-immigration-boat-story.com/ which is about introducing children to the idea of people who take to boats looking for a better life, and Fisherrow - a book and cd of his own songs andymelrose.bandcamp.com/. At the moment he is working on a novel, has edited Writing in Practice and Meniscus and is also an international editor for Axon: Creative Explorations.

Derek Neale

Derek Neale is a novelist – The Book of Guardians (Salt, 2012) – script and short story writer, and Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at The Open University. He edited and co-wrote A Creative Writing Handbook: Developing dramatic technique, individual style and voice (A&C Black/Bloomsbury, 2009); co-authored Writing Fiction and Life Writing (both Routledge, 2009) and was a principle author in Creative Writing: a workbook with readings (Routledge, 2006). Derek is lead educator on the OU/FutureLearn Start Writing Fiction MOOC.

Heather Richardson

Heather Richardson has worked for the Open University since 2006, initially as an Associate Lecturer, then in an academic-related role. Since 2014 she has been a full-time Lecturer in Creative Writing, promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2020. Her work has included module production and the line management of Associate Lecturers. Heather is based in the OU’s Belfast office. Prior to becoming an academic she spent fifteen years in healthcare sales and marketing, working for the Wellcome Foundation, Astra Pharmaceuticals and BMI Healthcare before joining a pharmaceutical distributor in Northern Ireland as Sales and Marketing Director.

Lucy Sweetman 

Lucy Sweetman is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University. Her research is focused on memoir, the literary essay, and using creative writing to respond to and make sense of national and global political events. Lucy also researches and writes about teaching and learning in higher education. Her most recent publication is a co-edited volume on leadership in higher education. Before coming to Bath Spa University, Lucy spent more than twenty years working in the voluntary sector with vulnerable and marginalized young people.

Co-opted members

Dr Yvonne Battle-Felton

Jane Moss

Caleb Parkin


NB: The elected committee may co-opt further members to fill any role which is vacant, provided co-options shall come to an end at the next AGM, when elections will again apply to any vacant positions.

Those elected shall serve for three years. After this period, Committee members shall stand down, but are eligible for re-election. An elected member may be asked to stand down if s/he misses 3 meetings within a year without input to the proceedings or special leave of absence.